Break the Mold
by justareader13
Summary: Charles always worried about Erik where their daughter, Nina, was concerned. It wasn't the idea of fatherhood and Erik Lehnsherr that he thought could be a volatile mix, it was the idea of Erik and humans that got him worried. The moment each of their children was born, Charles knew without a shadow of a doubt that Lorna and David would be mutants and Nina would not.


**Tags/Warnings: Implied past Mpreg, Canon Divergence, kidfic, Child-Parent relationship-centric, Erik/Charles background**

**AN: ****Don't ask what this is or when this is set because I have no clue, it just happened. If I was to say, I'd say it's a post-First Class canon divergence, but I just started writing and this happened, the author is as clueless as you are, reader. I'm sure I could flesh out this little universe if I was so inclined, but I'm really not. I'll end up making a ten-part series and I'm in no position to do that. I hope you all enjoy it though. It's an idea that just hit me like lightning.**

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Truth be told, Charles always worried about Erik where Nina was concerned.

It wasn't so much that he didn't think Erik would be a good father, he knew he would be. He saw as much in how hard his partner tried with Wanda and Peter. Even though his relationship with the twins suffered from his not being there during their childhood, the teenagers' rapport with their father was better than anyone could've expected it to be. Their aunt and uncle encouraged peaceful and healthy communication on both sides despite Erik's history. Erik and Wanda could be a bit of a powder keg together, but Peter's presence usually acted as a buffer. They were doing better with him than they were with their mother even. So, it wasn't the idea of fatherhood and Erik Lehnsherr that Charles thought could be a volatile mix. It was the idea of Erik and humans that got him worried.

Erik had never made any compunctions about how he felt regarding human beings. To say he loathed them across the board would be an understatement. All of his anger was not unfounded, but Charles worried at times how far that fury went. He knew it didn't completely outweigh all logic. The second the bullet hit Charles on the beach in Cuba, any vendetta against the human race was forgotten. Erik didn't leave his side all throughout the grueling recovery process and the physical therapy and Charles' depression with his immobility. (Hank's serum helped him to walk now, even though he had to use assistive devices somedays or else use too much serum and lose his telepathy. Eventually, he was going to lose his ability to walk altogether, but the serum gave him some precious years he wouldn't otherwise have).

Charles and Erik always debated the merits of integration with the human race versus complete separation. Charles had hired some human teachers for the school, three now to the nine mutant teachers. Erik seemed amicable enough with them but distant. Charles hardly hoped for more than that considering Erik was so completely against them in the beginning that he didn't speak to Charles for a week. There was Moira too. Charles would categorize Erik and Moira as friends, if fondly antagonistic acquaintances. It was rough after the beach. Charles wanted to bang his head against a wall from the collective guilt and shame hitting him from both of them, and the anger and blame with each other. Time and proximity forged a friendship between them.

It was different with the children though. The moment each of their children were born, Charles knew without a shadow of a doubt that Lorna and David would be mutants and Nina would not. He didn't ever tell Erik as much outright, but there were general conversations between them about what they would do if any of the children were baseline. It never went far. Erik was always rather flippant about it.

_("It probably won't happen. I imagine its rare for two mutants to have a human child. Look at me and Natalya, or Raven and Azazel, or Angel and Barney. All of the children manifested earlier than puberty."_

_"There's actually a 25% chance a child born of two mutants would be baseline, especially if their parents' parents were baseline. Which ours were. It's likely one of them will be human."_

_"You said a quarter chance. Let's do ourselves a favor and not have a fourth kid."_

_"Erik." Charles chastised, smacking his shoulder._

_"I'm kidding. Either way, we'll cross that bridge if we get there.")_

Lorna had manifested first, just after she turned two. She had been throwing a tantrum before naptime and released a magnetic pulse throughout her bedroom that had every piece of metal flying at her at high velocity. It was only Erik instinctively freezing the projectiles that saved her. The metal-bender had been over the moon about it, doting on Lorna all day and beginning to teach her all kinds of tricks then and there.

David manifested a year later, his telepathic mind latching onto Charles' so intricately that even now he could pinpoint a constant awareness in the back of his head that he knew was David. He was meticulous about helping his son to control his telepathy and low-levels of telekinesis. It was rough in the beginning with all the migraines and anxiety, but they managed it.

Nina, at eight-years-old, remained unchanged, and would always be if Charles' suspicions were correct. It never seemed to bother Nina overmuch that she didn't have powers despite living in a house of mutants. Charles would never let her feel left out and she had so many friends among the student body that it was hard to feel out of place, but Charles still worried she might feel like she was a world apart from the rest of their family. Erik and Lorna shared their metallokinesis and he helped David with his telekinesis. He and Wanda could bond much the same way he and David could and he was teaching Peter to use his speed not just for running, but to manipulate magnetic fields in the environment, but there was nothing of the sort for him to share with Nina.

It was different with Charles. He and David had their telepathy, yes, but he made it a point to bond with his children beyond their powers. He and David shared their love of classical music. He had been teaching his son to play the piano for three years now and they enjoyed playing together most of all. He and Lorna shared their love of books. Lorna had even started a book club with some of the other students with Charles facilitating in his office. He and Nina found their commonality in science. Any questions Nina had about the world, Charles tried to create an experiment for them. It could lead to messes at times, but a lot of laughs as well as sweet memories. He couldn't think of any such thing that Erik and Nina shared.

All that was not to say Charles thought Erik didn't love their daughter, but still, he worried about what their relationship would be like in the long run.

With that in mind, he was a little thrown when he walked into Erik's workshop one evening and found him and Nina there laughing together over his workbench. He paused in the doorway and listened to the two of them.

"It feels so sticky, Vati," Nina giggled.

"It should be. That's how we know it's the right consistency to shape it. You remember what to do next?"

"Yes. We need to mold it on the wheel."

"That's right, clever girl. Let's go." Nina happily plopped in front of Erik before a pottery wheel, which Erik scrapped clean and then started up spinning with his foot. Nina slapped the clay into the center.

"Now, we need to get our hands wet," Nina recalled, dipping her hands in a bucket of water before taking hold of the spinning clay.

"Good. Keep a firm grip. Get more water on it," Erik encouraged. Charles watched the two with a smile as they worked together for a time and shaped the clay into a bowl.

"Now, we need to let it sit for a while before we decorate it and you can give it to Papa." Nina nodded enthusiastically before turning into Erik's arms.

"Did your Vati teach you all this?"

"He did, as a matter of fact. When I was a young boy in Dusseldorf, he had a shop where he made things. Mostly woodworks, but some ceramics as well and he fixed watches occasionally too. When you're a bit older, I'll show you how make things from wood."

"Maybe that will be my superpower. I'll be able to make beautiful things and give them to everyone I love." Erik chuckled in response.

"Perhaps that will be so. It is a remarkable skill to have. But I want to tell you something."

"What is it, Vati?"

"It's important." His words sobered Nina up and she looked at him attentively.

"Whether or not you end up having powers like your siblings, it doesn't make you any less special. It doesn't make me love you any less. You are still just as unique and important as any mutant. Promise me you won't let anyone else tell you different, not even me." Nina nodded sagely in response.

"I promise, Vati."

"Good," Erik replied and pulled her into a hug. Charles felt his lips break into a grin, but he quickly smothered it as he announced his presence.

"Nina, dear, it's dinnertime. Aunt Raven has cooked." Nina's face turned up in excitement. She pressed a kiss to Erik's cheek and ran off towards the mansion. Charles watched her go before turning to face Erik with a look that he was sure anyone would characterize as undeniably fond at the very least.

"That was lovely of you." Erik quirked an eyebrow.

"Spending time with her like that. I know… I _thought_, I should say, that you may have felt a disconnect with her because she hasn't manifested and probably won't." Erik looked down for a moment.

"I did for a little while. I kept waiting, kept reading into everything she did. I saw her playing in the gardens, I thought she could influence plant life. I saw her talking to birds, I thought she could understand animals. She'd get a papercut and I'd wait to see if it would seal itself immediately."

"Erik..."

"I know. I didn't know how to handle it at first, reorient myself to her being baseline after I spent so long hating all humans, but I recognized my own hypocrisy soon enough. My mother, father, and sister were human, and I loved them all the same. Anya… Anya was human. She did die young, but if she were going to manifest at all, I expect the fire was ample enough opportunity for it."

Charles' lips twisted at the mention of Erik's first daughter. Erik's pain jumped out at him, an undercurrent of _painpainanguishlosspain_, accompanied by the familiar image of a little girl with auburn hair, gray-green eyes, freckles across her nose and a wide, toothy smile.

"I was being ridiculous, I know that. I just… I wanted to show her that I love her no less. I decided to follow your example and share something with her that will be just ours. And I like getting to work with my hands again, remember the good times with my father that I haven't let myself indulge in for years." Charles approached Erik and draped himself over his back, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You are a great father and I love you." Erik pressed back into Charles and the two sat in contented silence, happy with the family and the life they had made for themselves.


End file.
